A few months ago we wrote a story about Piñatex, an innovative company turning pineapple leaves into vegan, petroleum-free leather products. Now, food giant and pineapple distributor Dole Sunshine Company has partnered with Piñatex to minimize waste from their operations and scale-up sustainable leather.
The new partnership contributes to Dole’s goal of zero fruit loss by 2025. Specifically, Piñatex parent company Ananas Anam will have access to waste leaves from Dole’s Philippines farm, one of the largest pineapple plantations in the world. The partnership will save 264 tons of carbon emissions from the 825 tons of leaves burned as excess in the pineapple industry.
Ananas Anam CEO Melanie Broye-Engelkes said, “Through our partnership with Dole, our entity in the Philippines will access a much larger volume of pineapple leaf fibers, to meet the ever-increasing demand for Piñatex not only in fashion but also in the upholstery and automotive sectors.”
Piñatex has been featured in numerous major collections including items by Nike and H&M.
